Jazz Articles about Chris Walden

Judy Whitmore: Come Fly with Me

by Jack Bowers
February 6, 2024

When the multi-talented Judy Whitmore sings “Come Fly with Me," it is an invitation that is almost impossible to resist, especially as the lovely and charming vocalist is also a pilot who is licensed to fly anything from jets to seaplanes to hot air balloons. On her latest album, backed by a big band and twenty-six member string section with arrangements by Hollywood top gun Chris Walden, Whitmore beckons listeners to fly with her to romantic places around the world ...

Chris Walden: Missa Iubileum Aureum: Golden Jubilee Jazz Mass

by Jack Bowers
August 30, 2022

First things first: there is no doubt that Chris Walden's reverential Missa Iubileum Aureum ("Golden Jubilee Jazz Mass") is beautifully written and wonderfully performed by the LMR Jazz Orchestra, St. Dominick's Schola Cantorum and cantors Kurt Elling and Tierney Sutton. Is it jazz? That is another question, one not so easily answered. While there are elements of jazz, they are incidental and generally overshadowed by the more doctrinal aspects of what is essentially an homage to devotion and piety. And ...

Chris Walden Big Band: Full-On!

by Jack Bowers
October 3, 2014

To say that Chris Walden's instrumental compositions and arrangements are the best part of his new big-band album, Full-On!, is not to dismiss the rest as less than adequate. Walden's charts for the ensemble, on the other hand, do provide much of the excitement in a session that is otherwise dominated by vocals (seven in all), several of which are more overwrought than enlightening. Take, for example, “I Can Cook Too" and “Sir Duke," both sung by ...

Chris Walden Big Band: Full-On!

by Dan Bilawsky
September 13, 2014

It's been a while since the jazz world has seen a release from this group. The first three albums credited to the Chris Walden Big Band--the Grammy-nominated Home Of My Heart (Origin Records, 2005), No Bounds (Origin Records, 2006), and Kurt Marti Suite (Origin Records, 2007)--came in quick succession. And then there was silence from Walden. Well, that's not exactly true. Walden's actually been quite busy in the interim, even if his work didn't center on his own big band. ...

Chris Walden: Symphony No. 1 - The Four Elements

by Victor L. Schermer
January 1, 2009

Chris Walden Symphony No. 1 - The Four Elements Origin Records 2008

Chris Walden is probably best known to AAJ readers as a big band leader and composer. But his interest in developing other forms has already garnered him two Grammy nominations, and here he ventures into the serious orchestral realm. He takes the four elements--Earth, Water, Air and Fire--and uses them as the basis of four symphonic movements in the post-romantic programmatic style ...

Tamela D´Amico: The Tamela D`Amico Album

by AAJ Italy Staff
April 25, 2008

Fra le tante cantanti della grande tradizione americana Tamela D`Amico ha scelto Peggy Lee come fonte di ispirazione, per cui la sua formazione non poteva essere che la big band, guidata da Chris Walden e arricchita da una sezione archi. Dieci brani messi insieme con voce gradevole, un pò vicina alle cantanti pop, con la big band che swinga a dovere - una cosa che sembra scontata per gli americani - ed i violini usati con parsimonia e proprietà di ...

Chris Walden Big Band & St. John's Choir: Kurt Marti Suite

by Dan McClenaghan
August 31, 2007

The German-born composer/band leader Chris Walden pays the rent with his television and movie work, scoring over thirty feature and television films, in addition to his writing for a variety of musical artists, including--Christopher Cross, Michael Bolton, Sheryl Crow, Paul Anka and Olivia Newton-John. The art of his heart, though, must certainly be his big band recordings, including No Bounds (Origin Records, 2006) and the Grammy nominated (Best Large Jazz Ensemble and Best Instrumental Arrangement) Home of My Heart (Origin ...